???? 據管道新聞網2月3日消息稱，美國科羅拉多州的風滾草中游公司宣布已與一家全球一級氦氣供應商簽訂了一份為期10年的氦氣銷售協議。這份新合同為風滾草公司的Ladder Creek工廠的氦氣生產能力提供了頂級的全球客戶，并在2030年12月31日之前為客戶提供穩定的氦氣供應。

????該協議的具體條款尚未披露，但風滾草公司估計，整個合同的價值可能超過5億美元。最終合同的價值將取決于Ladder Creek工廠從現在到2030年年底的氦氣產量。

????風滾草中游公司創始人兼首席執行官Durell Johnson說：“我們非常高興能夠宣布與全球市場的世界頂級氦氣供應商之一簽訂新的長期合同。由于2021年和2022年俄羅斯和卡塔爾將新增氦氣供應，氦氣市場出現了大量投機行為，這份新合同提供了我們所需的穩定性，以確保我們的生產商以固定價格出售氦氣。”

????該協議的一個獨特之處在于，它允許風滾草公司將至多10%的氦產量出售給需要在公開市場上不定期購買氦的第三方買家。

????Johnson說：“這意義重大，因為該合同涵蓋了世界上任何地方所有可用的氦分子。我們已經預留了一部分年產量，專門用于幫助那些遇到供應問題、突然需要購買氦氣的客戶。因為目前還沒有現成的氦氣市場，所以我們希望氦氣買家知道，他們只需給風滾草中游公司打個電話，就可以填補暫時的供應中斷?！?/p>

????在2019年12月收購了Ladder Creek氦廠和集氣系統之后，風滾草公司修改了天然氣生產商協議并增加了新的收集和加工客戶。這些行動在2020年增加了該工廠的天然氣投入，使氦產量增加了四倍。

????Ladder Creek氦氣廠和集氣系統為在科羅拉多州東部和堪薩斯州西部運營的天然氣生產商提供服務。

????Johnson說：“持續的增長將來自我們的天然氣生產商。我們最近與堪薩斯州的一家生產商合作，完成了一個15000英畝的新項目，預計到第一季度末，新的鉆井活動將為工廠帶來額外的產量。”

????Ladder Creek低溫處理廠目前的處理能力是3800萬立方英尺/天，可擴大到5700萬立方英尺/天。該公司計劃在今年晚些時候開始擴建工廠。

????朱佳妮 摘譯自 PGJ

????原文如下：

????Tumbleweed Midstream Announces 10-Year Helium Sales Agreement

????Colorado’s Tumbleweed Midstream announced it has executed a new 10-year helium sales agreement with a global tier one helium supplier. The new contract delivers a top-rated global customer for Tumbleweed’s Ladder Creek plant’s helium production capacity and provides the customer a steady supply of helium through December 31, 2030.

????Specific terms of the agreement are undisclosed, however Tumbleweed estimates the value of the overall contract could exceed $500 million. Final contract value will depend on the volume of helium produced by the Ladder Creek plant and delivered between now and year-end 2030.

????“We are extremely pleased to be able to announce a new long-term contract with one of the world’s top tier suppliers of helium to global markets,” said Tumbleweed Midstream Founder and CEO Durell Johnson. “With much speculation in the helium market related to new supplies coming on from Russia and Qatar in 2021 and 2022, this new contract provides the stability we need to ensure our producers that their helium will be sold at fixed prices.”

????A unique aspect of the agreement gives Tumbleweed the option to sell up to 10% of its helium production to third-party buyers who need to make non-scheduled purchases of helium on the open market.

????“This is significant because every molecule of available helium anywhere in the world is under contract,” said Johnson. “We have reserved a portion of our annual production specifically to help suppliers who encounter a supply hiccup and suddenly need to buy helium to satisfy customer contracts. Because there is no established marketplace where you can buy helium, we want helium buyers to know they can fill a temporary supply interruption with a single phone call to Tumbleweed Midstream.”

????After it acquired the Ladder Creek Helium Plant and Gathering System in December 2019, Tumbleweed revamped its natural gas producer agreements and added new gathering and processing customers. These actions increased natural gas input to the plant in 2020, underpinning a fourfold increase in helium production.

????The Ladder Creek Helium Plant and Gathering System serves natural gas producers operating in eastern Colorado and western Kansas.

????“Continued growth will come from natural gas producers right here in our backyard,” Johnson said. “We recently executed a new 15,000-acre dedication with a producer in Kansas and expect to see new drilling activity that will bring additional production to the plant by the end of Q1.”

????Current processing capacity at the Ladder Creek cryogenic processing plant is 38 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), expandable to 57 MMcf/d. The company plans to initiate a plant expansion later this year.